


Ensnaring A Heart

by BlueEyedArcher



Category: Vampyr (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apologies, Fear, Fear of Death, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Post-Game, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:33:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27482779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueEyedArcher/pseuds/BlueEyedArcher
Summary: Under the guise of a truce, only then did Geoffrey see the reality of what he'd wrought and the scars he had carved deeply into the one man that meant the most to him. Apologies are fleeting as Geoffrey tries to make amends and salvage a friendship with Jonathan.
Relationships: Geoffrey McCullum/Jonathan Reid
Comments: 10
Kudos: 78





	Ensnaring A Heart

Never before had Geoffrey thought there would be a day when he’d make a truce with a leech of all things, but Dr. Jonathan Reid had proven himself to be a resourceful foe and a dedicated ally in their fight against the vampire epidemic. Their bittersweet parting in Stonebridge Cemetery had been a strange one that heaved a weight off of Geoffrey’s shoulders in knowing the nightmare London’s has faced for the last few years will finally be over. Of course, that didn’t mean the end of the leech’s reigning over the city but it did bring some peace and quiet while Priwen mopped up the aftermath. Dr. Reid had vanished for a few weeks, an absent shadow that had once been so prominent everywhere the hunter looked left him searching for the visage of the ekon in dark corners and foggy streets.

He had begun to give up the faint hope that he would see the man once again after the ominous farewell in the cemetery. It felt unpleasantly final, as if the doctor had anticipated the worst case scenario for himself, the mournful look in his expression was concerning as he drew away and disappeared into the night with King Arthur’s blood and the fate of London on his shoulders.

That nagging sense followed Geoffrey as he navigated the bitterly cold streets, hunching his shoulders up to fend off the dreary December wind, having traded the spitting snow for the icy chill of rain that soaked his jacket and burrowed deep into his bones. A cold so invasive, he had trouble thawing himself after these long dull patrols, tucked around a fire as he wrung his scarf out for the third time that week and let it hang above the mantle to catch the warmer draft.

The numbness was getting to him as the softer material turned scratchy with the dampness, leaving his neck red and agitated from the long hours in the bitterly cold English weather. Geoffrey blew warmer air onto his fingers as he continued, pausing when he caught a wisp of dark shadows darting quickly past him. The hunter jolted, twisting quickly to track the anomaly, the potential for prey to burn off some pent up energy was a pleasant sight for Geoffrey, his fingers already itching to clamp around the grip of his sword. His boots carried him before he could even think, his pulse quickened with excitement as he tracked the beast down the street as it darted from a rooftop towards an alley. There was a crash and a weary groan as whatever had been fleeing the hunter landed right smack into some unfortunate trash bins. 

Amused at its folly, Geoffrey turned the corner and stopped short as he recognized the hard line of broad shoulders hunched as the ekon rubbed absently at its head. There was a soft whine in the vampire’s throat as he peered around, his gaze searching the street beneath his feet before his gaze locked onto the scurrying rats that escaped through the gated fence that separated the portions of the alley. There was a hungry whimper from the doctor as he stared mournfully after his lost meal. Geoffrey adjusted his stance, relaxing the grip of his hand from the sword as he spoke up, catching the way Jonathan jerked and tensed at the sound of his voice. His shoulders stiffened as the doctor went stone still.

“Strange finding you back in London, Reid.” Geoffrey straightened up as the doctor turned to face him, a strained smile of greeting barely hiding the fangs that Geoffrey assumed ached with that bestial hunger. The pitiful expression of a beast begging for a meal was rife in Jonathan’s eyes as he fidgeted anxiously in place.

“I’ve only recently returned.” He admitted softly, averting his gaze from Geoffrey as he searched the cobblestones for missed morsels hiding in the refuse of the streets. The hunter had once thought such behavior was despicable, the sign of true beasts fallen to the wiles of its nature but now, he understood it as a sign of fortitude for a man who refused to let his fangs touch the flesh of another human being. The rats were his penance for the sins of his past, a fragile and dwindling hope that kept the doctor from turning to his dark nature and betraying his patients.

Despite it all, Geoffrey hated how the hunger made Reid look like a kicked stray sniffing after scraps fallen from a table ledge. It was a bit pathetic in the end, how a vampire of Jonathan's calibre had fallen so hard, nothing more than a shadow of his former self. The ekon fidgeted in place, reluctant to meet Geoffrey's gaze even as he searched for it. Something was amiss but the hunter couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I must get going, McCullum." He grunted, a far too quiet sound as he bobbed his head awkwardly in a self assured nod. "I've got work to do." 

Before Geoffrey could interject, Jonathan darted past him in a burst of shadows and vanished into the streets. It was no secret as the hunter stared after the ekon's absence with confusion, a brow quirked in a quizzical fashion as he tried to decipher what had changed the ekon so drastically. 

An answer he would fail to find in the following weeks as Geoffrey tussled with a sewer beast and found himself down a functioning shoulder after a particularly concerning throw. His body connected with the wall even as he curled in on himself and groaned as the sword left his grasp. It was by the mercy of his men arriving in time to back him up that he managed to escape the beast’s clutches and finish the job, using his left hand to drive his blade into it’s skull and cleave its head clean off of its body. McKinley, the plucky recruit he was fussed anxiously over the deformed shoulder as one moved wrong. The younger recruit was gently ushered away by the head Chaplain, Bishop as he examined the dislocated joint and grimaced.

“You’re gonna need to see a proper doc for this.” The Scotsman informed him regretfully, helping Geoffrey adjust the jacket on his shoulder and take his sword from him.

“Ya can’t set it yourself?” It hurt like hell but Geoffrey wasn’t adverse to his medic doing the job for him, with a belt clenched between his teeth and a book clutched in his hand, eagerly anticipating the bottle of whiskey he’d be nursing the rest of the evening. 

“Afraid not.” Bishop admitted. “It’s pretty bad, sir.”

Geoffrey didn’t need his Chaplain to tell him that. He could feel it himself. Cursing under his breath and ignoring the pain that throbbed and pulsed with a burning heat throughout the joint, he relented in his stubbornness and allowed his subordinates to usher him towards the lorry and packed up for the night. The trip to Pembroke Hospital was relatively short thanks to the quarantine dropping and the shortcuts he was most familiar with had cleared up. The shite roads, on the other hand, were still ever present as they bounced and jolted along the uneven cobblestones and paths. Geoffrey hissed through his gritted teeth as Bishop offered an apologetic look his way, steering the lorry around the curb until they were tucked against the curve of the sidewalk outside the hospital gates.

It was no secret that Geoffrey was a tough patient to handle, and he’s made the unfortunate mistake of making that known to the entirety of the staff of Pembroke. As Bishop filled out the form in quick order for him, Geoffrey gave it a shaky illegible sign off with his left hand and grimaced as he waited by the counter. Nurse Branagan stared him down the bridge of her nose and adjusted her glasses with displeasure before turning quickly to leave with his paperwork. He leaned his hip against the counter and inspected the patients. To his surprise, there was a substantial decrease in full beds as the doctors lingered about chatting instead of fretting tiredly. Among them, he spied Dr. Reid as he came down the hall with Nurse Branagan by his side. She stood patiently, waiting for him to finish his conversation with another doctor before she addressed the leech doctor.

He looked comfortable in his own skin, with the white coat resting on his shoulders with familiarity and the way he spoke to his colleagues, expression relaxed and posture easy, unlike anything Geoffrey had ever seen the man like before. It all shattered as Nurse Branagan spoke, the good doctor stiffened before his head raised in a momentary jerk, bewildered and tense, his gaze met Geoffrey’s and the hunter swore he paled even more. Dr. Reid’s colleagues didn’t notice his change in demeanor, either that or they shared a sympathetic thought regarding the hunter himself. Geoffrey grimaced inwardly and shrugged the sting of that realization away as Dr. Reid fidgeted with his paperwork and slowly approached with Nurse Branagan on his heels.

“If you’ll follow me, Mr. McCullum.” Dr. Reid directed him towards a private examination room, his gait was slow and stiff as he ushered him inside. “Take a seat.”

Geoffrey felt uneasy with the nurse lingering just within the doorway, but he supposed maybe a second set of hands would be necessary in resetting his shoulder. He didn’t like the sense of being watched with his back turned, but the nurse remained vigilant as Dr. Reid drew a seat up to rest beside Geoffrey, his hands carefully pulling the lapels of his coat away to peel it off of his shoulder. The most tender of touches caused the hunter to grind his teeth, ignoring the urge to draw away, the leech confirmed what Geoffrey already knew.

“It’s dislocated.” Dr. Reid declared.

“Wouldn’t be a first.” Geoffrey grunted miserably as the leech started to undress him more completely, pulling his coat off carefully, the nurse approached to assist, causing the hunter to turn and scowl at the sudden crowding in his personal space. She wasn’t deterred by the hunter’s look and met it with one of her own that chided him silently. Geoffrey turned his head as Dr. Reid took the full weight of his coat with hesitance before laying it over a nearby chair. He moved to gather what equipment he needed while nurse Branagan helped the hunter with his shirt. Geoffrey shooed her hands away and fidgeted on his seat as a sign he would simply do it himself, slipping the buttons free with his good hand.

Dr. Reid returned with a conflicted expression as nurse Branagan looked at odds with the hunter’s stubbornness. “I don’t see why all the damn fussing.” Geoffrey grunted as he pulled his shirt down over his shoulder until his right side was completely exposed to the cooler air. His scarf hung haphazardly around his neck as he turned his gaze on the doctor who moved seemingly on autopilot as he set a sling, a bottle of what Geoffrey assumed to be morphine and a sterile syringe out on a small metal table.

“If you would lie back, Mr. McCullum.” Reid directed, gesturing to the rest of the table in which Geoffrey was perched. Geoffrey was a bit at odds with the direction, glancing over his shoulder and wincing as he considered the table and the two staff currently looming over him. He recalled why he despised hospitals and cursed his medics for not sucking it up and doing it themselves. At least they’d let him have a bottle of whiskey to drink his pain away the rest of the night. Giving into the direction, Geoffrey awkwardly laid back and stared at the water stained ceiling with contempt as Reid moved to stand at his side, slowly placing a gloved hand on his wrist and adjusting the placement of his arm. His free hand prodded around Geoffrey’s shoulder, watching the way the bone pressed against the skin, muscles drawn tight and unpleasant. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced for the familiar pain. 

“Take a deep breath, Mr. McCullum.” Reid spoke softly, the compassion and sympathy of a doctor aware of the pain he was about to inflict in order to help a patient. There was a mournful regret beneath as Geoffrey sucked in a breath.

No matter how often it happened, it never hurt any less as he cried out. The sensation of muscle and bone shifting was agonizing like fire shooting down his arm. It receded quickly then lapped at his joints with a dull throbbing ache. His fingers twitched with aftershocks as he felt for the strength in his hand once more.

“You did well.” Reid commended. “I’m going to give you a shot of morphine for the pain now and prescribe you something for the next few days. I advise bed rest, no alcohol consumption and no strenuous activity for the next two weeks.” Geoffrey scrubbed his palm over his face as he peered down the length of his body as Jonathan cleaned the injection site and then pierced the tender skin of his arm to administer the drug. As tempting as it was for him to bat the doctor’s hand away and bear through it, he didn’t have the extra energy to spare and was a tad bit grateful. Being a hardass went about as far as he could throw a Vulkod during days like these and he wasn’t enough of a stubborn fool to condemn himself to the following hours of pain when he could be getting a good night's sleep instead.

Once the drug was administered, Reid helped him sit up and adjusted Geoffrey’s arm to help fit in the sling as he tied the fabric around the back of his neck. He moved the knot until it was comfortable and fixed Geoffrey’s scarf with a quick and gentle pat. The hunter was about to offer his appreciation when Reid politely excused himself and passed along directions to nurse Branagan to finish up. It was only a blink and the doctor was gone and Geoffrey felt a little odd sitting half dressed with the irritable nurse of all people who appeared just as perplexed by Reid’s behavior as Geoffrey was.

He was more than happy to finally be leaving the hospital, with his coat slung over his arm and the medication Reid had prescribed and left at the front desk for him to pick up on the way out. He was still a bit put off by the whole encounter as something uneasy itched at his thoughts and made him bitter. The good doctor seemed different somehow, since he returned to London. The confident purposeful strides of the powerful ekon determined to protect an entire city were now absent as the doctor betrayed his past self with meek glances, and shy fidgeting before fleeing at the first opportunity.

Geoffrey wondered if it had something to do with their truce? Did Reid expect him to break it? Did he not trust Geoffrey's word enough? The hunter meant it when he said he'd spare the doctor and call off his Great Hunt. He had kept his end of the word thus far, and yet, Reid seemed apprehensive. The thought followed him on the ride home, seeped in silence as Bishop drove the lorry back to base. To the hunter’s relief, the medication had kicked in and he was dragging his feet up the stairs to his office. Slinging his coat over the arm of a chair, he barely kicked his boots off before he flopped down into bed with a groan. The light dizzy feeling of the drugs eased his mind away from his fretting and dragged him into the relentless shadows of sleep. He had barely enough mind to drag his blankets up with clumsy fingers before dozing off.

Over the next two weeks, Geoffrey followed the regiment Reid had prescribed, he took his medicine as directed though that was less of a conscious effort and more due to the fact O’Connor and Bishop loomed over him with expectant glances and shoved a pill and a cup of tea at him. He would grumble, slump in his seat at his desk and submit to their silent chiding. He couldn’t tell who was a worse threat to his sanity, the mountain of paperwork he was trapped behind or the two mother hens he apparently appointed to his command staff.

He had slipped his sling before long as his shoulder healed and he could start using that arm again and with it came his ability to go out on hunts once more. He had asked that his subordinates keep tabs on Reid and the reports he obtained in return nagged at his thoughts. Most of which involved the good doctor pointedly avoiding Priwen at all costs. Bonner and Babic had joined a fight to help the doctor fend off two ekons Ascalon had sent after him, and immediately upon their death Reid vanished without a word. He had been spotted by a few patrols, helping patients in Whitechapel but the moment he noticed Priwen’s presence, he would disappear from the district altogether. There was one instance of the doctor defending one of the recruits at the Stonebridge cemetery from a skal, but he ran away as soon as the fight was over, only pausing long enough to appraise the younger man for injuries.

Somedays he wouldn’t be seen for several nights in a row and then he’d be spotted only to vanish for several more nights again. Geoffrey had gone back to Pembroke to get his shoulder checked out but Reid had politely excused himself from the front desk and delegated Geoffrey’s care to another doctor before disappearing up the steps hastily, presumably back to his office. The hunter had lingered a bit afterwards, with a clean bill of health, and chatted with O’Connor’s sweetheart who had been on shift that evening. She didn’t notice any strange behavior from her colleague and had expressed if anything, he was more relaxed with the quarantine over.

Geoffrey mulled that over for the next week and half as he patrolled the streets of Whitechapel. The buildings loomed like ominous beasts in the shadows as the weather started to turn towards warmer days. There was work being done in small increments to repair the damages from the war. Those buildings that had been abandoned by the dead and those that had fled the city during the epidemic were in a constant state of disrepair as slowly people started to recover from the worst of it. That didn’t stop most of them from being unstable death traps.

He picked his way through the back streets and towards one of the old factories in the area. It had been used primarily for storage, much of the building had been condemned with a lack of personnel to man it and not enough funds to sink into the effort. The surrounding buildings had suffered similarly, a few even Geoffrey knew better than to enter with collapsing roofs and unstable floors. He had lost a few good men to them early on during the hunt, foolishly entering homes without being wary of their feet, they’d ended up plummeting two floors and broke a leg or neck in the process.

The hunter had meandered slowly through when a darting shadow caught his attention in the corner of his eye. Turning up to greet the movement, his hand reached for the hilt of his sword as he spotted Reid traveling by rooftop. It wasn’t entirely unusual to see, a smart vampire traveled by the high ground to avoid trouble. It would appear he wasn’t the only one to notice, as Reid scanned the city line with a pensive expression before his gaze dropped and met Geoffrey’s. He shrank away from the ledge and looked around quickly. Geoffrey felt a sudden stinging pain as the ekon looked startled and fled through an open window of a neighboring building.

Geoffrey was about to turn away when he heard a loud noise like beams giving way under an unexpected weight and heard Reid shout in alarm. Geoffrey’s head swiveled back to inspect the building for any sign of the leech racing away from it but the quiet resumed just as quickly. He cursed himself inwardly, a nagging sense of concern rising in his chest as he raced through the narrow side street to the blockaded doorway that kept trespassers out. A few sharp strikes of his shoulder sent shocks of pain welling back up from the fresh injury, the frame splintered and cracked, giving way as Geoffrey stumbled into it and noted the rotted beams and lingering cloud of dust that filled the air, making it hard to breath. He wrinkled his nose and tucked his scarf over his face to protect himself, peering up at the hole he saw that it had gone through not one but two floors. The stairs were cluttered and heaped in a mad dash to flee the home, there was paint marking the walls warning of infection.

He disregarded it as he peered up, searching the dark and dusty home for any sign of the ekon. “Reid? You alright?” Rationally, he knew the leech doctor would have a higher chance of surviving such a fall but his gut protested otherwise, forcing him up the shaky steps as he made it to the second floor and stopped. The whole damn building was certainly falling apart as the two floors gave under the ekon’s weight, causing him to fall but not before the doctor appeared to make a last ditch attempt to reach safety in which he had gotten stuck.

As comical as that may sound, Jonathan had what appeared to Geoffrey, tried to use his shadow ability to lunge through a large gap in the wall where something had ripped through it with claws to escape this same room, somehow wedging himself between the wood beam supports and tangling himself up on brick and rebar to the point he was caught halfway through. Geoffrey suspected it was his coat that was the main problem but the ekon struggled desperately to unwedge himself, his claws scratching at the wood and chipped brick as he growled and snarled, partially suspended above the ground like a trapped dog with its head stuck in a fence.

“Need some help?” Geoffrey asked, trying to keep the mild amusement out of his voice as he stepped closer. Reid had gone stone still and deathly silent at the sound of Geoffrey’s voice, which hadn’t gone unnoticed by the hunter as he came a step closer.

“No.” Reid answered quickly, a breathless growl in his throat as he started to move more frantically to get himself free. It appeared to only succeed in getting himself stuck even more.

“Reid-”

“Go away, please.” His voice was strained as he pleaded to Geoffrey, causing the hunter to stop in his tracks, conflicted and concerned. This wasn’t exactly the ideal situation but he supposed if he wanted answers, this was as good a time as any with how skittish the ekon was being.

“Not until you talk to me and let me help.” Geoffrey asserted. There was a water rotted door frame where the door itself had rusted off the hinges and collapsed. A tiny bedroom was on the other side with, thankfully, more stable flooring allowing him to see Reid’s face now with his jacket hunched up around his shoulders and neck, and his head lowered in defeat. Geoffrey crouched down beside him, a silent attempt to force the ekon to meet his gaze. Reid only curled in on himself more, scraping his claws along the wall as they dug into the spongy rotting material.

“I don’t-” Reid began and shook his head slowly. “Don’t you understand, please leave me alone.” He pleaded, the strain in it began to break and crack causing the ekon to struggle against the obstruction once more. Geoffrey heard Reid’s knee connect with the wall as he searched for leverage to free himself. It was fruitless with the angle as he squirmed and wiggled in futile attempts.

“I can’t understand unless you talk to me, Reid.” Geoffrey grunted, reaching out his hand to offer to the ekon’s but Reid only swatted it away. His claws grazed Geoffrey’s arm, leaving a shallow cut across the skin. The drawn blood made the ekon flinch away and cower more against the wall, going completely still as he hunched up on himself. Geoffrey hissed through his teeth and inspected the injury before shaking it off with a dismissive roll of his aching shoulder.

Silence drew taut between them before Geoffrey interrupted it once more. “You’ve been avoidin me.” It wasn’t a question and Reid knew it yet he nodded nonetheless. A slow and timid bob of his head as he continued to refuse to meet the hunter’s gaze. “Why won’t you let me help ya?”

There was still an unsettling quiet that sank heavy like a blanket over them. Geoffrey watched as Reid adjusted against the wall, one hand posted to support his torso enough for comfort as he breathed a bit heavier. Whether it was from high tension or just the cramped and uncomfortable position, Geoffrey couldn’t tell. Eventually there was a whine in the ekon’s throat, a broken and pitiful sound as he sank a little down the wall and shuddered beneath the hunter’s scrutiny. In the dim lighting that shone through the doorway and cluttered windows, Geoffrey could see the dark droplets of blood that splattered the wall and floor beneath the doctor. His shoulders rose and fell in sharp motions as the ekon stifled his breath.

“Why is it I cannot escape this nightmare?” He lamented with an underlying quiver to his voice that shook the sophisticated tone into something adolescent and heartbreakingly familiar. Geoffrey dropped to kneel beside the ekon, adjusting his sword on his hip as he did so and laying it off to the side where it was no longer in the way. His hands rose up, hesitantly at first, before he let his palms touch the ekon’s face on either side and lifted his head. There was a sudden sharp intake of air as the ekon stilled, a subtle flinch squashed by force of will alone as his claws dug into his palms.

“I didn’t ask for any of this.” Reid breathed, as blood stained eyes finally met Geoffrey’s, rife with the grief of too many long nights and a painful miserable loneliness that the hunter could sympathize with. He should have expected that the ekon would break eventually, no matter how strong a man is, retaining his humanity creates a fragile presence that he could not escape. That was what separated the man from the monster. His vulnerability, his humanity, and his weaknesses.

“No one ever truly does.” Geoffrey assured him gently, his fingers gently wiping the blood away as it pooled into his palms. The ekon trembled against his touch, a quivering fear that lurked beneath the surface. A fear Geoffrey realized far too late, was directed at him. “Reid-”

“I tried.” Reid spoke quickly, cutting Geoffrey off as he averted his eyes with shame. “To end my life the night I discovered what I had become. I could not live with what had happened. I didn’t deserve to. Yet, I failed even then.”

“Reid.” Geoffrey tried to drag his attention back but the ekon continued.

“I thought maybe I could do better but I knew my punishment would come when I was unwilling to receive it and it had. You came for me, to deliver what I deserve and I had never been so scared to die in all my life.” He shook his head slowly. “I’m afraid, McCullum. Of you.” He sucked in another breath and squeezed his eyes shut. “Why don’t you see that you are the nightmare I have been desperately running away from?”

Geoffrey felt as if ice water had been dumped down his back as he froze in place. He watched, as Reid crumbled against the wall and quaked with the pent up emotions he’d been harboring for so long and now they all came rushing out in a wave of despair as he was trapped, presumably at the mercy of his greatest fears. Geoffrey thought that with the truce, things would be different. That Reid would know and understand that he didn’t mean him any harm. He should have known better, trauma has a funny way of rearing its ugly head in the most surprising places. After everything he had done, the cruelty in which he treated Reid, he shouldn’t be so foolish as to think some light hearted half-assed apology in a cemetery would have erased that.

He hurt Jonathan, in the worst ways possible. He spat words so sharp they pierced the ekon more brutally than bullets and stakes ever had. He burned him under the scrutiny of his accusations in that attic and thought himself lucky to walk away with what few wounds he had, not realizing that Jonathan was the lucky one that night, to escape with his life. How little the ekon showed his fear back then, it should have been obvious now. How he vehemently avoided Priwen as a whole and fled Geoffrey’s presence with the same frantic desperation as a wounded beast intimately aware of the pain that could be inflicted upon it.

“I’m sorry.” Geoffrey uttered softly, reaching out to Reid as he grabbed at the ekon’s wrists and lifted him. The doctor froze and stiffened as Geoffrey continued, giving him a tug to get him out of the makeshift trap he’d found himself in. “I truly am, Jonathan. I hadn’t known’n I was shite fer tryin to see past my own bias. I hadn’t realized what I’d been doin to ya.”

Reid flinched at the touch and started to twist free before he realized Geoffrey was trying to help. Maybe it was a sign of defeat or a recognition that the hunter meant what he was saying, but he relaxed briefly before trying to squirm with the hunter’s attempts. Reid was well and thoroughly stuck despite the efforts.

“You have every right to be appalled with me, I don’t blame ya fer feeling angry or hurt.” Geoffrey admitted as he fidgeted, releasing Jonathan’s arms as he inspected the ekon’s situation more closely. The wooden beams were sturdier and harder to break free, but maybe he could get the ekon a little less caught up on everything around him. Tugging at his clothing made Jonathan writhe uncomfortable, his claws returned to scratching and scraping at the walls to find leverage and support as Geoffrey reached around his clothing to get the tools and equipment the doctor kept tucked out of view out of the way. He cut his hand on the hacksaw before successfully wrenching it free from where it had dug into the wood beam. A few pockets lighter and with his coat less bulky, Geoffrey tried grabbing the ekon by his ankles and giving him another pull. 

It worked, or so he thought until he nearly fell back into the hole the vampire escaped, with Jonathan’s shoe in one hand and landed on his butt near the edge. There was a breathy nervous laugh from the doctor who’s foot kicked the air with displeasure.

“I really doubt that was necessary.” Jonathan spat, trying to twist free as Geoffrey waved the shoe in disdain.

“Not a word Reid." Geoffrey shot back but there was more mirth there as he pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off. He tossed Reid’s shoe aside to rest beside his other belongings then went back around to the front as he considered a thought. Coming to sit on the ground in front of the doctor, he found those blood stained teary eyes heart wrenching to look at. He cupped his face with a mindful reach, noting the brief flash of fear in the doctor’s eyes before Reid squashed it with a sharp breath.

“I promise ya, from the bottom of my heart, I’ll never hurt ya again Reid. I don’t ask ya to forgive me cause I know well enough that forgiveness ain’t so easy to give but let me help ya. I want to show ya how sorry I truly am.” There was a pain in his own voice, genuine and raw as he regarded the ekon with a gentleness he’d spared only for those closest to him. He really did want to do better and he could only hope that Reid would see that and believe him, to trust him if only for the moment then, maybe they’ll never have to see each other again. It’d hurt, God it would hurt in knowing he was the cause of that separation, especially since he had grown fond of the doctor despite his bitter feelings towards leeches, Reid was different and Geoffrey felt that deep down. But he understood the reason for it all. 

There was silence as Reid drew in a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. They waited, in the quiet of the night air with the calm chill that dragged through the small apartment and tickled at the flushed heat of Geoffrey’s face where his scarf had started to slip down. Then Jonathan nodded slowly. “I want to. But I can’t.”

It hurt but it was a pain he expected. 

“It will take time.” Jonathan continued. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust you Geoffrey, but I want to hope we can come to some form of equal ground nonetheless.”

“I’d be willing to try if you are.” Geoffrey confirmed, sliding his thumb along Jonathan’s cheek as he wiped the tears away for the doctor. “But first we gotta get ya out of here.” Jonathan nodded as they looked down at the mess he was caught in.

“What do you propose?” Jonathan asked quietly, ignoring the rasp in both their throats as Geoffrey cleared his and looked around.

“Maybe try pushing yerself up while twisting?” He placed Jonathan’s hands on his shoulders and winced at the sensation of nails prickling at his back as the ekon nodded. Slowly rising to kneel, Geoffrey urged the doctor to use his own body for leverage to shove himself upright enough to get his feet under himself and twist his body around. It took a few tries and Geoffrey had to adjust his stance, but before long, Jonathan had slipped free, landing on the other side of the hole with unsteady feet.Geoffrey winced as he rolled his aching shoulder and gathered his sword to return it to his belt with a sigh of relief.

Jonathan looked shaken and disheveled, with blood staining the collar of his shirt. His clothes were torn around his waist and worn in places that would need some repairing, but at least he was free. The doctor collected his shoe and started to pull it back on as Geoffrey strolled through the doorway with a sigh. His shoulder ached something fierce now but the relief he felt overshadowed the pain that burned in his arm as it moved. The unpleasant feeling hadn't been missed by the doctor's keen senses as he tilted his head and squinted at the hunter in ridicule. 

"What?" Geoffrey grunted.

"What did I say about no strenuous activity?" Jonathan started, beckoning the hunter closer to inspect his shoulder as well as his other wounds which he flared his nostrils at the drying blood.

"Would ya rather I left ya to bake in the sun instead?" Geoffrey countered but relented to Reid's motherhenning, pleased with the more positive attention he was receiving from the ekon. It wasn't a certain victory but it was a first step in a very long road to recovery for both of them.


End file.
